The problem with the majority of "production" catamarans, is just like with production monohulls. As far as "cruising" is concerned, most, (but not all), are built to a bad design in the first place. The manufacturers "main" goal is not to make a great sea boat, it's to sell more boats, and they sell more with really great dockside amenities than they do truly
seaworthy, efficient, sea kindly designs, so this is what they dictate as a goal from their NAs.
Many older designs, (like when most multihulls were one offs), were built to a better design, even though more is known about the subject now. This is because the folks willing to build their own had very different priorities than dockside accommodations, (a condo at the marina)... They wanted a true sea boat!
For THAT:
You need a low COG and relatively small / relatively low
headroom, bridge
deck cabins, that do not extend even close to the bow. The more open, with netting the better.
You need good visibility forward, (even around the jib), while sailing.
You also need ample clear walkways forward, as well as ample wing clearance... to prevent pounding in a seaway.
The heaviest portion of the payload, like eng,
batteries, tankage, spares, tools, etc, need to be as low as possible in the hulls, even if inconvenient to get to.
Finally... after starting with a good seaworthy design like above, it needs to be built WELL but really light, (and engineered for strength), kept lightly loaded, as simply tricked out electrically as possible, and sailed with reserve.
These are ways to have a good trip, rather than a bad one, at sea.
Personally, I would favor a really well built example of one of the older "one offs" to
cruise in, as the few newer examples in production cats, (that DO fulfill the above criteria), are incredibly expensive for what you get.
Best of luck in your search... Mark
Re: Pros and Cons Between a New and Old Catamaran
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